Our Commitment to Fighting FraudWe are committed to developing an anti-fraud culture within the authority and amongst people and organisations that deal with us. We will attempt to raise the awareness of fraud, both within the authority and in the community. We encourage the reporting of suspected fraud and will take appropriate action when fraud, corruption and irregularities come to light.
The effects of fraud on public services
It is difficult to accurately estimate the amount of fraud against the public sector. In the UK, benefit fraud alone is estimated to be about £2 billion a year – that's about £80 for each family in the country. Fraud is not a victimless crime. All the money lost to fraud is money that could be spent on schools, hospitals, roads and the many other public services on which we all rely; or looking at it another way, it means that you are paying a proportion of your taxes to fraudsters.
So what are fraud and corruption?
Basically, fraud is providing false information in order to obtain money, goods, or services. Examples are persons claiming that they are not working in order to claim benefits, or people claiming to be living in a council home, when they are, in fact sub-letting it.
Corruption is when officers, councillors or council contractors make decisions, for example, to award a contract or grant, on behalf of the council on the offer or receipt of a personal inducement, such as cash, a holiday or other "in kind" reward (e.g. free renovations to their home).
More information about fraud
|